Genesis 22:15-18 "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
Abraham had gone to Mount Moriah to offer up Isaac in worship unto God. This was a test of Abraham’s faith. Since nothing is hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13), we must conclude that this test was for Abraham and Isaac’s benefit. The angel of the LORD (speaking as the Divine Being) had called to Abraham out of heaven to not harm Isaac. Instead, Abraham was able to offer a ram that was caught in a nearby thicket.
After the ram was sacrificed, the angel (Messenger, Word) of the LORD called unto Abraham a second time. Notice that in both instances in this chapter that the scripture is careful to point out that the angel of the LORD called “out of heaven.” He spoke from a seat of holy authority, from a place that was above even the mountain where Abraham and Isaac had gone to worship. The Holy Spirit of God still speaks to us today “out of heaven.” His ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:9), and it is only by Him lifting us up that we are able to “sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).”
Since there was no one greater that He could secure His oath to Abraham by, He swore an oath to Abraham by Himself. He declared in this that He was the surety of the promise, and that He required no aid to bring it to pass. He swore this “by Himself,” just as Jesus purged our sins “by Himself (Hebrews 1:3).” The LORD declared that He found “none to help,” so He brought salvation by His own arm (Isaiah 63:5).
The LORD swore to Abraham that He would abundantly bless Abraham, and He would multiply his seed to be as innumerable as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore. He further declared that Abraham’s seed would possess the gate of his enemies. The apostle Paul tells us plainly in Galatians 3:16 that the seed of Abraham is referring to Jesus Christ. While the natural offspring of Abraham have been scattered, THE seed has possessed the gate of His enemies, having overcome sin and death.
We are assured that God has people everywhere (Revelation 5:9). All of God’s people everywhere have been redeemed by the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. All the nations of the earth are blessed in Him. We are redeemed to God by His blood, made heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham according to the promise of God!